Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to control of power consumption, and, in particular, to distributed control of thermostatic loads.
Description of the Related Art
Remotely controlling thermostatic electric loads (TELs) such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units in homes and businesses during peak consumption hours has become a common practice of many electric power utilities. The control allows for issuing a demand response event signal that dynamically adjusts HVAC loads to conserve power and prevent overloading a power grid and ensure power distribution stability for the electric power utilities and consumers.
One method of direct TEL control has been to remotely adjust the temperature set points of the loads to reduce energy consumption. Typically this method is implemented by installing an AM or FM receiver with a relay on a heating unit or a cooling unit. A signal for a demand response event is then broadcast over the AM/FM network and induces the receiver-relay to disconnect the load from the power grid. For example, the heating unit of a building during winter is controlled to allow a measured temperature to drift lower a few degrees. Similarly, for a cooling unit during summer, the temperature is allowed to drift upward a few degrees. The method may also rely on Internet-based communication standards instead of AM/FM broadcast infrastructure. However, TEL control based solely on temperature does not provide compensation for individual loads, and merely lowers the amount of demanded power. The result is a lowered power demand, but the method is inefficient since without specific temperature compensation correlated to power usage monitoring, there are unbalanced loading cycles.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system, method, and apparatus that provides efficient control of thermostatic electric loads based on electric consumption for specific temperatures during demand response.